The 14th Oil and Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) Block Bidding Round for Oil and Natural Gas Exploration marks the resumption of the oil and gas sector in Brazil, with the largest total signing bonus in history - more of R $ 3.8 billion - and the two largest offers per block - about R $ 2.24 billion and R $ 1.2 billion. Goodwill was 1,556.05%.

The success of the auction reflects the regulatory changes made by the Brazilian Government, which have made the business environment in the country more attractive to companies of different sizes.

A number of authorities were present at the public session, such as the Minister of Mines and Energy, Fernando Coelho Filho, the chief minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Wellington Moreira Franco, governors and vice governors, Oddone, Aurélio Amaral, Felipe Kury and Waldyr Barroso, and José Cesário Cecchi, approved by the Senate for the Agency's Board of Directors.

At the opening, the director general of the ANP, Décio Oddone, said that it is "a historic day of the oil and gas sector in Brazil. This auction represents the beginning of the resumption of investments, after the biggest crisis that this sector has already experienced in Brazil. " Oddone recalled that, in addition to the 14th Round, two auctions of pre-salt areas will be held this year, another six rounds until 2019 and the permanent offer of areas will begin. "These measures will attract hundreds of billions of reais in investments, that is, in wealth for Brazilian society."

In the round, 37 blocks were bought for exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The Minimum Exploration Program investment forecast (set of activities to be complied with by the winning companies in the first phase of the agreement) is R $ 845 million.

In all, 20 companies from eight countries participated. Of these, 17 have completed blocks, being 10 national and seven of foreign origin. The signing of the contracts is expected to occur until January 31, 2018.

The total area was 25,011 km². The blocks are distributed in 16 sectors of eight sedimentary basins: Parnaíba, Potiguar, Santos, Recôncavo, Paraná, Espírito Santo, Sergipe-Alagoas and Campos.

The largest signing bonus was around R $ 2.24 billion, offered by the C-M-346 block in the Campos basin, by the consortium formed by Petrobras (50% - operator) and ExxonMobil Brasil (50%).

The ANP continues its strategy of diversifying exploration areas in Brazil and attracting companies of different profiles. For the 14th Round, the rules of the Brazilian concession regime were simplified, such as the adoption of the single exploration phase and the possibility of extending it for technical reasons; removal of local content as a bidding criterion in the bidding process; differentiated royalties for new frontier areas and mature basins with greater risks; and incentives to increase the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Pre-salt rounds in 2017

In addition to the 14th Round, with areas in the post-salt, the ANP will hold, on October 27, the 2nd and 3rd Pre-Salt Rounds. Currently, the ten wells that produce the most in Brazil are in the pre-salt polygon, which is already responsible for about half of the Brazilian production.

The 2nd Round will offer four areas with unitizable deposits, that is, adjacent to fields or prospects whose reservoirs extend beyond the granted area. The areas are related to the discoveries named by Cat do Mato and Carcará, and the fields of Green Turtle and Sapinhoá.

The 3rd Round will offer four areas located in the Campos and Santos basins, in the region of the pre-salt polygon, related to the prospects of Pau Brasil, Peroba, Alto de Cabo Frio-Oeste and Alto de Cabo Frio-Central.

Multi-year round calendar

The Federal Government also established a multi-year calendar of rounds. In 2018 and 2019 three rounds will be held each year, one of areas with mature accumulations, one of the pre-salt and one of exploratory blocks.

The 2017 to 2019 rounds are expected to generate more than $ 80 billion in new investment over the contracts, more than $ 100 billion in royalties and thousands of jobs.